Ontario Highway 27

The southern terminus of Highway 27, where it transitions into the collector lanes of Highway 427 south of Eglinton Avenue.

Highway 27 at Clairville, Toronto

As of 2021, Highway 27 begins to the south at the offramps from the collector lanes of Highway 427 as a four-lane divided highway. While the express lanes, constituting the mainline Highway 427, curve around the Richview Memorial Cemetery and shift west by approximately 1 km (0.6 mi), the collector lanes transitioning to Highway 27 continue northward and cross Eglinton Avenue at a half-cloverleaf interchange (originally meant for the never-built Richview Expressway before diving under Highway 401. Highway 27 ends north of Mimico creek at the end of the divided highway, transitioning into an arterial road of the same name.[1][3][4]

Former route (1997)

Through Etobicoke, it encountered mostly industrial surroundings, meeting Dixon Road at a cloverleaf interchange near the Toronto Congress Centre, then crossing (but not interchanging with) Highway 409. Highway 27 followed a mostly straight route throughout its length, as it passed through the suburbs of Toronto, then north of Kleinburg, with the vast majority of the highway being surrounded by rural farmland. Within the Regional Municipality of York, Highway 27 travelled along the 9th concession road of Vaughan and King Township, approximately 16 km west of Yonge Street. It passed along the western edge of suburban sprawl in Vaughan, near the community of Woodbridge. South of Kleinburg, the highway dipped into the Humber River valley, connecting with Islington Avenue. North of the valley, it continued through King Township into the Oak Ridges Moraine, dividing the village of Nobleton and entering Schomberg immediately south of Highway 9, north of which the highway entered Simcoe County.[5][6]

Former Highway 27 south of Schomberg

North of Highway 9, the route curved 1.5 km (0.93 mi) to the east, then continued north, parallel to Highway 400. It followed the townline between Tecumseth and West Gwillimbury townships. It travelled through the village of Bond Head and thereafter met Highway 89 in Cookstown. As the highway approached Barrie, it curved and followed Essa Road northeast until it met Highway 400. Through Barrie, it was concurrent with Highway 400 between Exit 94 and Exit 98, after which it was concurrent with Highway 26 along Bayfield Street, travelling north and exiting the city. At Midhurst, Highway 27 diverged from its concurrency to continue north, parallel to and 4 km (2.5 mi) west of Highway 400. After passing through the village of Elmvale and the end of Highway 92, the highway abruptly turned to the east to a junction with Highway 93 in the community of Waverley, which assumed the section north of here in the 1980s. Continuing north again, the highway meandered towards Georgian Bay, departing from the old Penetanguishene Road at Mertz's Corner. The route curved around the western side of a large marsh before entering the community of Wyebridge, where it crossed the Wye River. Several kilometres north of Wyebridge, Highway 27 met Highway 12 on the outskirts of Midland. It then rejoined Penetanguishene Road and continued north into Penetanguishene, ending at the shoreline of Penetanguishene Harbour.[5][6]

The original alignment of Highway 27 required drivers to travel along Highway 9 briefly. The current Leonard Road was formerly Highway 27 connecting from Highway 9 to 27 north of 2 Line.

The alignment (Schomberg Bypass) completed in 1968 provided a direct route between the two discontinuous sections of Highway 27.

Highway 27 was first designated between Barrie and Penetanguishene on September 14, 1927.[2] On March 28, 1934 it was extended south to Schomberg via county roads south of Barrie.[7] On August 12, 1936, Browns Line and Eaton Road were designated as part of Highway 27, creating an isolated section of the route between Long Branch and Elder Mills (at the modern intersection of Rutherford Road). On the same date, the road between Schomberg and Kleinburg was designated as part of Highway 27, leaving a gap between Elder Mills and Kleinburg, through the Humber valley. This gap was closed beginning in late 1936. It was completed and opened to traffic in 1938, bringing Highway 27 to its peak length of 148.1 km (92.0 mi).[8]

In the mid-1950s, the Toronto Bypass was constructed between Highway 2A and the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW), widening Highway 27 to a four lane freeway in the process. This section was reconstructed again starting in 1968 and continuing until the early 1970s to turn it into a twelve-lane collector-express system. The junction with the QEW was built over 48.5 ha (120 acres) and required the construction of 19 bridges and the equivalent of 42 km (26 mi) of two lane roadway.[9] The junction with Highway 401 sprawls over 156 ha (385 acres) and required the construction of 28 bridges and the equivalent of 46.6 km (29 mi) of two lane roadway, the largest interchange in Canada.[10] The former was opened to traffic on November 14, 1969,[11] while the latter required several more years of construction staging, fully opening on December 4, 1971 (though portions were opened in the weeks prior to that), just prior to the renumbering of Highway 27 as Highway 427. The rest of the route was rebuilt prior to the completion of these interchanges.[12][13] The isolated section of Highway 27 following Browns Line from south of the QEW to Lake Shore Boulevard (then Highway 2) was subsequently decommissioned.[14][15]

On June 21, 1968, a new bypass north of Schomberg opened. Originally, northbound traffic had to turn east at Highway 9 then north at Leonard Road; a smooth curve is visible at this latter intersection, though it now forms the driveways of several residences. The new bypass made Highway 27 a through route at Highway 9.[16] In 1982, the section between Waverley and Penetanguishene was renumbered as an extension of Highway 93.[17][18] The remainder of the route, from Eglinton Avenue north to Waverley, was decommissioned on January 1, 1998.[19] Within the City of Toronto it is locally maintained, and still known as Highway 27; a proposal to rename it to "Etobicoke Drive" was rejected. North of Toronto, it is known as York Regional Road 27 and Simcoe County Road 27, depending on the jurisdiction.[6]

The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 27, as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. Former sections of Highway 27 are based upon lengths from the 1989 distance tables.[5] 

Division	Location[20]	km	mi	Destinations	Notes
Toronto		0.0	0.0	Highway 427 south	Southern end of provincially maintained section
		0.6	0.37	Eglinton Avenue	Grade-separated interchange
		1.6	0.99	and divided highway end[1]
		2.9	1.8	Dixon Road	Grade-separated interchange
		6.1	3.8	Rexdale Boulevard
		9.3	5.8	Albion Road	Formerly Highway 50
		10.6	6.6	Steeles Avenue	Northern end of City of Toronto maintained section; southern end of York Region maintained section
York	Vaughan
		12.7	7.9	Highway 7	Highway 7 was decommissioned through York Region on the same day as Highway 27
	Kleinburg	20.7	12.9	Regional Road 49 (Nashville Road)	Formerly Highway 49
		21.2	13.2	Islington Avenue
	Nobleton	27.5	17.1	Regional Road 11 (King Road)
	King	33.8	21.0	Sideroad 17	Formerly York Regional Road 15
		37.8	23.5	Regional Road 16 (Lloydtown Road) – Lloydtown, Pottageville
	Schomberg	38.5	23.9	Regional Road 76 (Main Street)
		39.9	24.8	Highway 9 – Orangeville, Newmarket
Simcoe	Bradford West Gwillimbury
		49.4	30.7	County Road 88 – Bradford	Formerly Highway 88
		50.8	31.6	County Road 1 (8th Line) – Beeton
	Innisfil	60.9	37.8	Highway 89 (Queen Street) – Alliston, Shelburne
	Thornton	69.7	43.3	County Road 20 west (Robert Street)
		70.2	43.6	County Road 20 east (Innisfil Beach Road)
	Innisfil	73.1	45.4	County Road 27	Formerly Highway 131 and once the route of Highway 27
Barrie		80.0	49.7	Highway 400	Exit 94
		80.9	50.3	Burton Avenue	Formerly Highway 11
		82.9	51.5	Dunlop Street West	Formerly Highway 90
		83.2	51.7	Dunlop Street East	Formerly Highway 11 and Highway 26
		84.5	52.5	Highway 400	Exit 98; Current eastern terminus of Highway 26[20]
Simcoe	Midhurst	89.6	55.7	County Road 43 (Snow Valley Road)
		90.4	56.2	Highway 26 – Collingwood, Owen Sound
	Springwater	98.1	61.0	County Road 22 (Horseshoe Valley Road) – Horseshoe Valley
	Elmvale	109.2	67.9	County Road 92 (Queen Street) – Wasaga Beach	Formerly Highway 92
	Saurin	111.0	69.0	County Road 6
	Tay	119.4	74.2	Highway 93 (Penetanguishene Road) – Barrie
	Midland	130.6	81.2	Highway 12 south – Orillia	Now northern terminus of Highway 93 and Highway 12; renumbered in the 1980s
	Penetanguishene	138.1	85.8	Robert Street	Decommissioned in 1997
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

• Cancelled expressways in Toronto